Eurasian Steppe Essay
Although it can be said that nomadic tribes of the Eurasian Steppe were unorganized and barbaric, the Xiongnu were one of the first to create a more complex political and military system to rule over their entire Empire, likewise influencing the development of the Han Dynasty and in turn, the future of China.
According to Nicola Di Cosmo, the Xiongnu’s Supreme Leader, the Chanyu, was implicitly recognized as having the same amount of authority and prestige as that of the Chinese emperor. Like the Han and other Chinese Emperors Like many nomad tribes yet to appear, the Xiongnu had a hierarchy, and they adhered to it. As exemplified in later nomadic tribes of the Eurasian Steppe, most vast and powerful empires were formed as one person seized …show more content…
Without many natural borders, save for the Gobi Desert and the Altai Mountain range surrounding modern-day Mongolia to the south and northwest respectively, the Han were forced to interact with all the bordering nomadic tribes. The Xiongnu being an overpowering force, the Han allied themselves with other minor tribes in the surrounding region. Namely, the Wusun, a group located to the west of Mongolia. As the climate in Mongolia and around the territory of the Xiongnu was not prime for agriculture nor were the people capable of specialized artisanal jobs, goods such as foodstuffs, precious metals, silk, and other such textiles were hard to come by and very expensive. Being a confederation of nomadic tribes in a Steppe biome, the Xiongnu greatly utilized horses and kept many grazing livestock, but yet had not developed sufficient agricultural or artisanal skills to produce foodstuffs or textiles. In a tried attempt at peace, Han emperors circa first century BCE created a tribute system, which would last until the seventeenth century CE. The tribute system would instill trade and create protected trading towns along the Xiongnu and Han boundaries. With this tributary system in place, the Han paid annual the silk, wine, grain, and other foodstuffs. This Heqin Policy almost bankrupt the Han. The cost of the increasing tributes and the moral decay of the peasants dying
According to Nicola Di Cosmo, the Xiongnu’s Supreme Leader, the Chanyu, was implicitly recognized as having the same amount of authority and prestige as that of the Chinese emperor. Like the Han and other Chinese Emperors Like many nomad tribes yet to appear, the Xiongnu had a hierarchy, and they adhered to it. As exemplified in later nomadic tribes of the Eurasian Steppe, most vast and powerful empires were formed as one person seized …show more content…
Without many natural borders, save for the Gobi Desert and the Altai Mountain range surrounding modern-day Mongolia to the south and northwest respectively, the Han were forced to interact with all the bordering nomadic tribes. The Xiongnu being an overpowering force, the Han allied themselves with other minor tribes in the surrounding region. Namely, the Wusun, a group located to the west of Mongolia. As the climate in Mongolia and around the territory of the Xiongnu was not prime for agriculture nor were the people capable of specialized artisanal jobs, goods such as foodstuffs, precious metals, silk, and other such textiles were hard to come by and very expensive. Being a confederation of nomadic tribes in a Steppe biome, the Xiongnu greatly utilized horses and kept many grazing livestock, but yet had not developed sufficient agricultural or artisanal skills to produce foodstuffs or textiles. In a tried attempt at peace, Han emperors circa first century BCE created a tribute system, which would last until the seventeenth century CE. The tribute system would instill trade and create protected trading towns along the Xiongnu and Han boundaries. With this tributary system in place, the Han paid annual the silk, wine, grain, and other foodstuffs. This Heqin Policy almost bankrupt the Han. The cost of the increasing tributes and the moral decay of the peasants dying